


A Day Off

by kallooh



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 00:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13019100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kallooh/pseuds/kallooh
Summary: Because you can't spend every day studying Hegel





	A Day Off

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cricket_aria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cricket_aria/gifts).



> For cricket_aria - thank you for letting me revisit The Good Place. Happy Yuletide!
> 
> Takes place sometime between season 2 episode 3 and episode 7
> 
> Many many thanks to kcl for helping make this much better

Michael knocked on the red door and walked in. “Lay some more philosophy on me! Socrates! Bentham! People are good!”

“I told Chidi to cancel class today, remember? So he could have a day to himself.” Eleanor looked slightly surprised to see him, though not displeased. The chalkboard had been moved to the corner and she was stacking their notebooks in a pile.

“Oh rats. I was working myself up to actually look forward to today’s class.”

“Well you can work on that through tomorrow morning.” She continued moving books and papers off of the coffee table and piling them to the side.

“Right, maybe by then I will be 0.3% closer to believing people are good.” Michael paused. “Hey let’s you and me go out and have some fun. You know,” Michael held his hands in front of him as if holding a box, causing Eleanor to put on a look of attentiveness though she didn't stop organizing, “in the reboots I would create chaos based on negative comments you made, and then I would pretend to be distraught because the neighborhood was falling apart. Tahani would usually suggest you could assist me in finding out what was wrong. Then you would take me out to cheer me up.”

Eleanor looked rather skeptical. “Really? Where did I take you?”

“It varied. We went to karaoke 784 times. If I was really annoyed with the way the prior reboot had ended, I made the song list mostly jazz hits and threatened to scat like Ella Fitzgerald.” Eleanor made a face as Michael laughed rather evilly. “Yeah that was great. Even when it wasn’t all jazz you would complain the list didn’t have the better songs and I would tell you those musicians were in the Bad Place.”

“Were they? Are they?” Eleanor folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

“Nearly all of them are. We did other things too. We painted our own pottery 592 times. You would pretend to be reluctant but I could tell you enjoyed it. For variety I had Janet create a paint and sip bar 217 times. That didn’t work as well. Vicki usually ran it and made us paint clowns. Except the one time Gunnar ran it and ended that reboot by making the subject of the painting a post-nuclear holocaust.”

“Ew and more ew.” Eleanor wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“We took photo booth pictures 427 times. It was more fun the times we had props. I liked the feather boa and top hat.”

“I could see that being a good look for you.”

“And we went to build a bear 286 times.”

“Seriously? Build a bear? “

“I’d usually make a dog so I could kick it around the office.” Michael chuckled at the memories.

“You would. What did I make?” Eleanor stopped as she was struck by a memory of following her mother out of the mall, looking back at smiling moms with happy kids walking out of the Build a Bear store hugging their special custom bears. “Wait, never mind, skip that. Did any of these cheer you up?”

“Theoretically for a short time, but I couldn’t look too happy because I needed you to stick around to make sure you remained afraid that I would find out your ‘secret’.” Michael smirked then called out. “Janet.”

Janet appeared. “Hello Michael. Hello Eleanor.”

“Janet, what fun things are there to do in this neighborhood? Anything related to painting?”

“There is a bowling alley below A Little Bit Chowder Now.”

Eleanor groaned. “Not bowling. Throw the ball at some weird-shaped pins and then it magically reapprears, then do it all over again. All while wearing super ugly shoes.”

“Better than sitting around the house all day. Come on! It will be fun!”

“Are you trying to torture me while pretending that we’re having fun?”

“No, no of course not. And Janet can get you some bowling shoes that aren’t ugly, right Janet?”

”Of course.” Janet held out a pair of black and hot pink shoes.

“Argh! Oh-kayy I will go. But if there is any jazz music I am out of there.” Eleanor didn’t know why she was agreeing, this was not the relaxing day she had planned, but she found she didn’t want to say no.

There were a few others at the bowling alley. Michael and Eleanor set up a few lanes away from them. Eleanor bowled three gutter balls and a two before getting a spare. Michael threw a strike every time.

“Show off.”

“I can’t help that I’m an immortal all-knowing being.”

Eleanor rolled her eyes.

“See, if you hold the ball like this.” Michael came slightly behind Eleanor and put his hand over hers to show her what he meant. “Then keep your arm straight and bring your thumb up toward your nose as you release the ball.” He pulled her arm back and gently swung it forward to show her what he meant. Eleanor felt herself hold her breath for a moment as she felt the warmth of his hand on hers, and was that scent the cologne that Stone Cold Steve Austin wore or maybe the guy she had mistaken for Stone Cold Steve Austin - she shook her head to bring her mind back to bowling.

Eleanor bowled a 7. “Yes! Hey buddy, that was nice of you. You were being nice.”

“Huh! I was, wasn’t I. Good for me.” Michael smiled in a way that looked genuine.

“So Michael, in all of those reboots, did I ever refuse to be your assistant?”

He paused. “No Eleanor. Not once. Even if you had only started studying how to be a better person with Chidi, you always agreed to work for me and then spent time trying to cheer me up.”

“Guess I have made progress toward being a better person.” Eleanor threw another gutter ball. “Fork this stupid forking game!”

They ordered a few beers and continued much as they had begun: Michael kept trying to help Eleanor improve her technique. Eleanor thought to herself maybe that was the after shave that fake Stone Cold Steve Austin had worn.

Michael ended with a perfect score of 300. Eleanor jumped up and down when she broke 100. “Three digits baby! Look at that!”

“Another game?” Michael suggested.

“Oh no. My original plan for today was to put on pajamas and watch classic old movies like Clueless and The Mummy, and that is what I plan to do now.” Eleanor pointed to emphasize her words.

“That is a great idea! We can pick up some clam chowder on the way.”

“You can join but you are not bringing any sea-bug latte into my home.”

Janet supplied them with matching striped pajamas - “It was a holiday thing with families” Eleanor explained, “other families I mean, not mine of course.” - and DVDs. Eleanor told Michael, “It seems old school but I’ve found they are more reliable than the internet here. It usually drops mid-movie.” She put Clueless on first. Somehow, around the time Cher was trying to get her father to drink orange juice, Michael’s arm was around her shoulders. 

Michael almost choked on his popcorn when Cher talked about a “soul makeover”. “I thought you said this was a classic.” He looked at Eleanor, his face inches away. There was a beat before each moved slightly away from the other.

“It totally is a classic and I used to hate-watch it when I was alive. All those perfect girls and their perfect friendships and families. Hey, now we’re the ones doing the soul makeovers with our friends.” Eleanor punched Michael’s shoulder.

Three movies, two bags of popcorn, and at least two pints of frozen yogurt later, Eleanor and Michael sprawled on the couch, Eleanor sitting with her legs over Michael’s and her head on his shoulder.

“Eleanor.”

“Yep?”

“Eleanor. Today, this has been like, well like a date. Right?”

She sat up and swung her legs back to the coffee table. “No! No this is two friends hanging out doing friend-y things.”

“Oh.” Michael stood up and snapped his fingers to return his clothes to his usual suit coat and bowtie. “I thought it might be a date but then I have never been on one. Well thank you for a fun day. See you tomorrow.” Michael saluted with two fingers touching his forehead and went out the door into the night.

Eleanor remained on the couch for a moment then groaned. “Holy forking shirtballs! That WAS a date!”


End file.
